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{{Short description|American designer and artist (born 1959)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox artist
| name             = Maya Lin
| image            = Maya Lin at Crystal Awards Ceremony (2023) 02.png
| imagesize        = 
| caption          = Lin (2023; age 63)
| birth_name       = Maya Ying Lin
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1959|10|05}}
| birth_place      = [[Athens, Ohio]], U.S.
| citizenship      = American
| field            = Land art, architecture, memorials
| training         = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[MArch]])
| movement         = 
| works            = [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial]] (1982)<br>[[Civil Rights Memorial]] (1989)
| patrons          = 
| influenced by    = 
| influenced       = 
| awards           = [[National Medal of Arts]]
[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]
| website          = {{URL|mayalin.com}}
| spouse           = {{marriage|Daniel Wolf|1996|2021|end=died}}
| children         = 2
}}
{{infobox Chinese
| t = 林瓔
| s = 林璎
| p = Lín Yīng
}}

'''Maya Ying Lin''' (Chinese: 林瓔; born October 5, 1959) is an American [[architect]], [[designer]], and [[Sculpture|sculptor]]. Born in [[Athens, Ohio]], to Chinese immigrants, she attended [[Yale University]] to study [[architecture]]. She has an older brother, the poet [[Tan Lin]].

In 1981, while still an [[Undergraduate education|undergraduate]] at Yale, Lin achieved national recognition when she won a national design competition for the planned [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/11/books/review/james-reston-jr-a-rift-in-the-earth.html|title=The Right Way to Memorialize an Unpopular War|last=Lewis|first=Michael J.|work=The New York Times|date=2017-09-12 |access-date=2020-09-26 |archive-date=2020-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111185955/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/11/books/review/james-reston-jr-a-rift-in-the-earth.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The memorial was designed in the [[Minimalism|minimalist]] architectural style, and it attracted controversy upon its release but went on to become influential.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Kimmelman |first=Michael |date=2002-01-13 |title=ART/ARCHITECTURE; Out of Minimalism, Monuments to Memory |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/arts/art-architecture-out-of-minimalism-monuments-to-memory.html |access-date=2024-03-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329114227/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/13/arts/art-architecture-out-of-minimalism-monuments-to-memory.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lin has since designed numerous [[memorial]]s, public and private buildings, [[landscape]]s, and [[sculpture]]s. In 1989, she designed the [[Civil Rights Memorial]] in [[Montgomery, Alabama]].

Although best-known for historical memorials, Lin is also known for environmentally themed works that often address environmental decline. According to Lin, she draws inspiration from the architecture of nature but believes that nothing she creates can match its beauty. She also draws inspirations from "culturally diverse sources, including Japanese gardens, Hopewell Indian earthen mounds and works by American earthworks artists of the 1960s and the 1970s".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Maya Lin |url=https://art21.org/artist/maya-lin/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=Art21 |language=en |archive-date=2023-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209092507/https://art21.org/artist/maya-lin/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Maya Lin was born in [[Athens, Ohio]]. Her parents emigrated from [[China]] to the United States, her father in 1948 and her mother in 1949, and settled in Ohio before Lin was born.<ref name="NYTimes2006">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/nyregion/thecity/05maya.html|author=Paul Berger|title=Ancient Echoes in a Modern Space|work=The New York Times|date=November 5, 2006|access-date=January 2, 2009|archive-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616030902/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/nyregion/thecity/05maya.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Her father, Henry Huan Lin, born in [[Fuzhou]], Fujian, was a [[ceramist]] and dean of the [[Ohio University]] College of Fine Arts. Her mother, Julia Chang Lin, born in Shanghai, was a poet and professor of literature at Ohio University. She is the "half" niece of [[Lin Huiyin]], who was an American-educated artist and poet, and said to have been the first female architect in modern China;<ref name="RoweAndSeng">{{cite book|author=Peter G. Rowe|author2=Seng Kuan|name-list-style=amp|title=Architectural Encounters with Essence and Form in Modern China|publisher=[[MIT Press]]|year=2004|isbn=978-0-262-68151-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9irZf11s4NkC}}</ref> Lin Chang-min, a [[Hanlin Academy|Hanlin]] of Qing dynasty and the emperor's teacher, fathered Lin Huiyin with his wife, while Maya Lin's father Henry Huan Lin was Lin Chang-Min’s son by his [[Concubinage|concubine]].<ref>{{cite book|page=56|year=2007|publisher=Infobase Publishing|author=Tom Lashnits|title=Maya Lin|series=Asian Americans of Achievement Series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XcwyNT2DzIsC&pg=PA56|isbn=978-1-4381-0036-4}}</ref> [[Lin Juemin]] and Lin Yin Ming, both of whom were among the 72 martyrs of the [[Second Guangzhou uprising]], were cousins of her grandfather.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S0qHNt3ZU4wC&pg=PA5|title=Maya Lin: A Biography|author=Donald Langmead|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-37854-6|page=5}}</ref> 

According to Lin, she "didn't even realize" she was ethnically [[Han Chinese|Chinese]] until later in life, and that only in her 30s did she acquire an interest in her cultural background.<ref name="AAM">{{cite web|url=http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/mn/mayalin.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915223311/http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/mn/mayalin.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-09-15|title=Between Art and Architecture: The Memory Works of Maya Lin|publisher=[[American Association of Museums]]|date=July–August 2008|access-date=December 30, 2008}}</ref>

Lin has said that she did not have many friends when growing up, stayed home a lot, loved to study, and loved school. While still in high school she took courses at [[Ohio University]] where she learned to cast bronze in the school's foundry.<ref name="Seeing the World Differently">{{cite web|title=Maya Lin Biography and Interview|website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/achiever/maya-lin/#interview|access-date=March 18, 2020|archive-date=November 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109104758/http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/lin0int-1#interview|url-status=live}}</ref> She graduated in 1977 from [[Athens High School (Ohio)|Athens High School]] in [[The Plains, Ohio]], after which she attended [[Yale University]] where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1981 and a [[Master of Architecture]] in 1986.<ref name="FAMSF"/>

== Environmental concerns ==
According to Lin, she has been concerned with environmental issues since she was very young, and dedicated much of her time at Yale University to environmental activism.<ref>{{cite book|last=Munro|first=Eleanor C.|title=Originals: American women artists|location=Boulder, CO|publisher=Da Capo Press|year=2000}}
</ref> She attributes her interest in the environment to her upbringing in rural Ohio: the nearby [[Hopewell tradition|Hopewell]] and [[Adena culture|Adena]] Native America burial mounds inspired her from an early age.<ref name="Favorite 185–205">{{cite journal|last=Favorite|first=Jennifer K.|date=2016-07-02|title='We Don't Want Another Vietnam': The Wall, the Mall, History, and Memory in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center|journal=Public Art Dialogue|volume=6|issue=2|pages=185–205|doi=10.1080/21502552.2016.1205862|issn=2150-2552|doi-access=free}}</ref> Noting that much of her later work has focused on the relationship people have with their environment, as expressed in her [[Earthworks (engineering)|earthworks]], sculptures, and installations, Lin said: {{blockquote|"I'm very much a product of the growing awareness about ecology and the environmental movement...I am very drawn to landscape, and my work is about finding a balance in the landscape, respecting nature not trying to dominate it. Even the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is an earthwork. All of my work is about slipping things in, inserting an order or a structuring, yet making an interface so that in the end, rather than a hierarchy, there is a balance and tension between the man-made and the natural."}}

According to the scholar Susette Min, Lin's work uncovers "hidden histories" to bring attention to landscapes and environments that would otherwise be inaccessible to viewers and "deploys the concept to discuss the inextricable relationship between nature and the built environment".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Min|first=Susette|title=Entropic Designs: A Review of Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes and Asian/American/Modern Art: Shifting Currents, 1900–1970 at the De Young Museum|magazine=American Quarterly|volume=61|issue=1|year=2009|pages=193–215}}</ref> Lin's focus on this relationship highlights the impact humanity has on the environment, and draws attention to issues such as global warming, endangered bodies of water, and animal extinction/endangerment. She has explored these issues in her recent memorial, called ''What Is Missing?''

According to one commentator, Lin constructs her works to have a minimal effect on the environment by utilizing recycled and sustainable materials, by minimizing [[Greenhouse gas emissions|carbon emissions]], and by attempting to avoid damaging the landscapes/ecosystems where she works.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Mendelsohn|first=Meredith|title=Maya Lin|magazine=[[Art+Auction]]|volume=33|issue=4 (December 2009)|pages=40–90}} ''Art & Architecture Source'', EBSCO''host'' (accessed April 14, 2017).</ref>

In addition to her other activities as an environmentalist, Lin has served on the [[Natural Resources Defense Council]] board of trustees.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lin |first=Maya |date=March 26, 2002 |title=Maya to Frances: Negative campaigning is the last thing we need |url=https://yaledailynews.com/articles/maya-to-frances-negative-campaigning-is-the-last-thing-we-need |access-date=March 16, 2026 |work=[[Yale Daily News]]}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}

==Vietnam Veterans Memorial==
{{Further|Vietnam Veterans Memorial}}
[[File:MayaLinsubmission.jpg|thumb|Lin's winning submission for the [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial]] design competition.]]
In 1981, at 21 and still an [[Undergraduate education|undergraduate]] student, Lin won a public design competition to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to be built on the [[National Mall]] in Washington D.C. Her design, one of 1,422 submissions,<ref name="LOC">{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm022.html|title=Vietnam Veterans Memorial|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=January 3, 2009|archive-date=January 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119101755/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm022.html|url-status=live}}</ref> specified a black [[granite]] wall with the names of 57,939 fallen soldiers carved into its face (hundreds more have been added since the dedication),<ref name="VVMFFacts"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Frequently Asked Questions|url=https://www.vvmf.org/about-vvmf/FAQs/|access-date=2021-05-12|website=Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund|language=en-US|archive-date=June 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627051849/https://www.vvmf.org/about-vvmf/FAQs/|url-status=live}}</ref> to be v-shaped, with one side pointing toward the [[Lincoln Memorial]] and the other toward the [[Washington Monument]].<ref name="VVMFFacts">{{cite web|url=http://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?sectionID=539|title=Facts and Figures|publisher=Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund|access-date=January 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304051639/http://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?sectionID=539|archive-date=March 4, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The memorial was designed in the [[Minimalism|minimalist]] architectural style, which was in contrast to previous war memorials.<ref name=":3" /> The memorial was completed in late October 1982 and dedicated in November 1982.<ref name="VVMFHistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?SectionID=76|title=History|publisher=Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund|access-date=January 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304031234/http://www.vvmf.org/index.cfm?SectionID=76|archive-date=March 4, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to Lin, her intention was to create an opening or a wound in the earth to symbolize the pain caused by the war and its many casualties. "I imagined taking a knife and cutting into the earth, opening it up and with the passage of time, that initial violence and pain would heal," she recalled.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Woman Who Healed America|url=https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/2019/10/23/the-woman-who-healed-america|website=The Attic|date=October 23, 2019|access-date=5 November 2019|archive-date=November 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105210849/https://www.theattic.space/home-page-blogs/2019/10/23/the-woman-who-healed-america|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lin's winning design was initially controversial for several reasons: its minimalist design,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/04/30/403034599/vietnam-veterans-memorial-founder-monument-almost-never-got-built|title=Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Founder: Monument Almost Never Got Built|newspaper=NPR.org|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=July 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707000640/http://www.npr.org/2015/04/30/403034599/vietnam-veterans-memorial-founder-monument-almost-never-got-built|url-status=live}}</ref> her lack of professional experience, and her Asian ethnicity.<ref name="AAM"/><ref name="GreenMuseum">{{cite web|url=http://www.greenmuseum.org/c/aen/Issues/lin.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621063353/http://greenmuseum.org/c/aen/Issues/lin.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 21, 2010|author=Marla Hochman|title=Maya Lin, Vietnam Memorial|publisher=greenmuseum.org|access-date=December 30, 2008}}</ref><ref name="JackMagazine">{{cite web|url=http://www.jackmagazine.com/issue9/essayksands.html|title=Maya Lin's Wall: A Tribute to Americans|work=Jack Magazine|author=Kristal Sands|access-date=December 30, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120141639/http://www.jackmagazine.com/issue9/essayksands.html|archive-date=November 20, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Some objected to the exclusion of the surviving veterans' names, while others complained about the dark complexion of the granite, claiming it expressed a negative attitude towards the Vietnam War. Lin defended her design before the [[US Congress]], and a compromise was reached: ''[[Three Soldiers (statue)|Three Soldiers]]'', a bronze depiction of a group of soldiers and an [[American flag]] were placed to the side of Lin's design.<ref name="Favorite 185–205"/>

Notwithstanding the initial controversy, the memorial has become an important [[pilgrimage]] site for relatives and friends of the dead soldiers, many of whom leave personal tokens and mementos in memory of their loved ones.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gale.com/free_resources/whm/bio/lin_m.htm|title=Free Resources – Women's History – Biographies – Maya Lin|work=Gale|date=March 12, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020203074950/http://www.gale.com/free_resources/whm/bio/lin_m.htm|access-date=April 25, 2012|archive-date=February 3, 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Maya_Lin.html|title=Maya Lin – Great Buildings Online|work=Greatbuildings.com|access-date=April 25, 2012|archive-date=July 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717053530/http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Maya_Lin.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2007, an [[American Institute of Architects]] poll ranked the memorial No. 10 on a list of [[America's Favorite Architecture]] and is now one of the most visited sites on the National Mall.<ref name="Favorite 185–205"/> Furthermore, it now serves as a memorial for the veterans of the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Afghanistan]] and [[Iraq War|Iraq]] wars.<ref name="Favorite 185–205"/> There is a collection with items left since 2001 from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which includes handwritten letters and notes of those who lost loved ones during these wars. There is also a pair of [[combat boot]]s and a note with it dedicated to the veterans of the Vietnam War, that reads "If your generation of Marines had not come home to jeers, insults and protests, my generation would not come home to thanks, handshakes and hugs."<ref name="Favorite 185–205"/>

Lin once said that if the competition had not been held "blind" (with designs submitted by number instead of name), she "never would have won" on account of her ethnicity. Her assertion is supported by the fact that she was harassed after her ethnicity was revealed as when prominent businessman and later third-party presidential candidate [[Ross Perot]] called her an "egg roll."<ref name="Wu">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/yellowraceinamer00wufr|url-access=registration|title=Yellow: Race In America Beyond Black and White|page=[https://archive.org/details/yellowraceinamer00wufr/page/95 95]|publisher=[[Basic Books]]|year=2002|author=Frank H. Wu|isbn=0-465-00639-6}}</ref>

==Later work==
{{stack|
[[File:Maya Lin sculpture.jpg|thumb|''2 × 4 Landscape'' (2006) at the [[De Young Museum]] in [[San Francisco]] (January 2009).]]
[[File:SMLwithMayaLinWomenatYale.jpg|thumb|Lin's ''[[The Women's Table]]'' in front of the [[Sterling Memorial Library]], commemorating the role of women at [[Yale University]].]]
}}
Lin, who now owns and operates Maya Lin Studio in New York City, has designed numerous projects following the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, including the [[Civil Rights Memorial]] in [[Montgomery, Alabama]] (1989) and the ''Wave Field'' outdoor installation at the [[University of Michigan]] (1995).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/lin/card2.html|title=Art:21. Maya Lin's "Wave Field" PBS|work=Pbs.org|access-date=2012-04-25 |archive-date=2011-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920233325/http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/lin/card2.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lin is represented by the [[Pace Gallery]] in New York City.<ref>{{cite news|title='Maya Lin's New Memorial Is a City'|first=Carol|last=Kino|date=2013-04-25|access-date=2013-09-23 |work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/arts/design/maya-lins-here-and-there-at-pace-gallery.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=2018-06-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165142/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/arts/design/maya-lins-here-and-there-at-pace-gallery.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Works===
* ''Peace-Chapel'' (completed in 1989), for the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies and [[Juniata College]]. Lin was approached by Elizabeth Evans Baker to design the open-aired chapel, perched on top of a mountain, and set within a {{convert|14|acre|abbr=off|adj=on}} site. The chapel represented in one place the connections between peace, art, spirituality, and nature. The site consists of a circle of stones for "pews", the ground of the earth for a floor, and the boundless sky for a ceiling overhead. The chapel is located within the {{convert|170|acre|abbr=off|adj=on}} Baker-Henry Nature Preserve in Huntingdon, PA.<ref name="juniatachapel">{{cite web |url=https://www.juniata.edu/academics/museum/collections/peace-chapel.php |title=Maya Lin's Peace Chapel |accessdate=2025-07-23 |work=Juniata College }}</ref>
* ''Wave Field'' (completed in 1995), for the University of Michigan. Lin was inspired by both diagrams of fluids in motion and photographs of ocean waves. She was intrigued by the idea of capturing and freezing the motion of water and wished to capture that movement in the earth rather than through photography. ''Wave Field'' was her first experiment with earthworks.<ref name="deitsch6">{{cite magazine|last=Deitsch|first=Dina|title=Maya Lin's Perpetual Landscapes and Storm King Wavefield|magazine=Woman's Art Journal|volume=30|issue=1|year=2009|page=6}}</ref>
* ''[[Confluence Project]]'' (completed in 2000), a series of outdoor installations at historical points along the [[Columbia River]] and [[Snake River]] in the states of [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and [[Oregon]].<ref>{{cite news|title=A Meeting of Minds|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw06122005/coverstory.html|work=The Seattle Times|date=2005-06-12|access-date=2006-09-07|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060507145453/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw06122005/coverstory.html|archive-date=2006-05-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cipolle |first=Alex |title=Along the Columbia River, Making a Monument of the Land |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/arts/maya-lin-tribal-monuments-pacific-northwest.html |date=2021-05-20 |work=New York Times |access-date=2023-04-30 |archive-date=2023-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221005548/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/arts/maya-lin-tribal-monuments-pacific-northwest.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''Eleven Minute Line'' (completed in 2004), an earthwork in [[Sweden]] that was designed for the Wanås Foundation. Lin drew inspiration from the [[Serpent Mound]]s (Native American burial mounds) located in her home state, Ohio. It is meant to be a walkway for the viewers to experience, taking eleven minutes to complete. The work was inspired by [[Robert Smithson]]'s ''[[Spiral Jetty]]''.<ref name="deitsch6"/>
* A new [[plaza]] (completed in 2005), at the [[Claire Trevor School of the Arts]] at the [[University of California, Irvine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0r29r847/|title=Guide to the University of California, Irvine, Claire Trevor School of the Arts, Maya Lin Arts Plaza Project Records AS.123|website=Oac.cdlib.org|access-date=2012-08-15|archive-date=2017-04-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416044637/http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0r29r847/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arts.uci.edu/content/facilities-theatres-galleries-venues-rentals-classrooms-and-labs |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120119194406/http://www.arts.uci.edu/content/facilities-theatres-galleries-venues-rentals-classrooms-and-labs |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-01-19 |title=Facilities, theatres, galleries, venues, rentals, classrooms and labs. &#124; Claire Trevor School of Arts |website=Arts.uci.edu |access-date=2012-08-15 }}</ref>
* ''Waterline'' (completed in 2006), composed of aluminum tubing and paint. Lin has described the piece as a drawing instead of a sculpture. It is a to-scale representation of the Mid-Atlantic ridge, and it is installed so that viewers may walk on the underwater mountain range. One critic saw in the work a purposeful ambiguity as to where the actual water line was in relation to the mountain range, which highlighted the viewers' relationship to the environment and the effect they had on bodies of water.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Min|first=Susette|title=Entropic Designs: A Review of Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes and Asian/American/Modern Art: Shifting Currents, 1900–1970 at the De Young Museum|magazine=American Quarterly|volume=61|issue=1|year=2009|page=198}}</ref><ref name="TenBrink">{{cite web | last=TenBrink | first=Marisa | title=Maya Lin's Environmental Installations: Bringing the Outside In | url=https://publications.kon.org/urc/v9/Interconnected-Through-Art/tenbrink.pdf | location=South Dakota State University | page=7 | access-date=2025-05-25}}The document has something akin to a watermark saying "The document and the images it contains may not be re-published elsewhere."</ref>
* ''Bodies of Water'' series (completed in 2006), consisting of representations of three bodies of water: "The Black Sea"; "The Caspian Sea"; and "The Red Sea". Each sculpture is made of layers of [[birch]] [[plywood]], and are to-scale representations of three endangered bodies of water. The sculptures are balanced on the deepest point of the sea. Lin wished to call attention to the "unseen ecosystems" that people continue to pollute.<ref>{{cite web | last=TenBrink | first=Marisa | title=Maya Lin's Environmental Installations: Bringing the Outside In | url=https://publications.kon.org/urc/v9/Interconnected-Through-Art/tenbrink.pdf | location=South Dakota State University | page=10 | access-date=2025-05-25}}</ref>
* ''Input'' (with her brother, poet [[Tan Lin]], completed in 2004). Lin was commissioned by [[Ohio University]] to design what is known as ''Input'' in that institution's Bicentennial Park,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohio.edu/athens/bldgs/bicentennial.html|title=Bicentennial Park at Ohio University|website=www.ohio.edu|access-date=2016-12-01 |archive-date=2018-06-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617144201/https://www.ohio.edu/athens/bldgs/bicentennial.html|url-status=live}}</ref> a landscape designed to resemble a computer [[punch card]]. The work relates to Lin's first official connection with the university. The daughter of the late Professor Emerita of English Julia Lin and the late Henry Lin, dean emeritus of the College of Fine Arts, Maya Lin studied computer programming at the university while in high school. The installation is located in a {{convert|3.5|acre|abbr=off|adj=on}} park. It has 21 rectangles, some raised and some depressed, resembling the holes in computer punch cards, a mainstay of early programming courses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ohio.edu/outlook/390n-034.cfm|title=Ohio University dedicates Bicentennial Park|publisher=[[Ohio University]]|location=Athens, Ohio|date=2004-05-15 |access-date=2018-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121181751/https://www.ohio.edu/outlook/390n-034.cfm|archive-date=2018-11-21 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''[[Above and Below]]'' (completed in 2007), an outdoor sculpture at the [[Indianapolis Museum of Art]] in [[Indiana]]. The artwork is made of aluminum tubing that has been electrolytically colored by [[anodization]].{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}
* ''2&nbsp;×&nbsp;4 Landscape'' (completed in 2008), a {{convert|30|ST|adj=on}} sculpture made of many pieces of wood, which was exhibited at the [[M.H. de Young Memorial Museum]], in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Maya-Lin-looks-at-nature-from-the-inside-3188400.php|title=Maya Lin looks at nature – from the inside|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=2008-10-24 |access-date=2012-04-25 |archive-date=2008-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081027015730/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/24/DD3713HMF1.DTL|url-status=live |first=Heidi |last=Benson }}</ref> The sculpture itself is evocative of the swelling movement of water, which is juxtaposed with the dry materiality of the lumber pieces. According to Lin, ''2&nbsp;×&nbsp;4 Landscape'' was her attempt to bring the experience of ''Wavefield'' (1995) indoors. The {{convert|2|×|4|in|cm|0|adj=on}} pieces are also meant to be reminiscent of pixels, to evoke the "virtual or digital space that we are increasingly occupying".<ref>{{cite web | last=TenBrink | first=Marisa | title=Maya Lin's Environmental Installations: Bringing the Outside In | url=https://publications.kon.org/urc/v9/Interconnected-Through-Art/tenbrink.pdf | location=South Dakota State University | page=4 | access-date=2025-05-25}}</ref>
* ''Wave Field'' (completed in 2008), at the [[Storm King Art Center]] in New York state.<ref>{{cite news|first=Carol|last=Kino|title=Once Inspired by a War, Now by the Land|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/arts/design/09kino.html|work=The New York Times|date=2008-11-07|access-date=2008-11-09|archive-date=2008-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081109082744/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/arts/design/09kino.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Art Review {{!}} 'Storm King Wavefield': Where the Ocean Meets the Catskills|first=Holland|last=Cotter|date=2009-05-07|access-date=2009-05-08|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/arts/design/08lin.html|archive-date=2011-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009064046/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/arts/design/08lin.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It is the center's first earthwork, spanning {{convert|4|acre|abbr=off}} of land, and is a larger version of her original ''Wave Field'' (1995) that focuses on the "fusion of opposites", comparing the motion of water to the material of the earth.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Deitsch|first=Dina|title=Maya Lin's Perpetual Landscapes and Storm King Wavefield|magazine=Woman's Art Journal|volume=30|issue=1|year=2009|page=3}}</ref>
* Design of a building (2009) for the [[Museum of Chinese in America]], near New York City's [[Chinatown, Manhattan|Chinatown]]. Lin said that she found the project to be personally significant, explaining that she wants her two daughters to "know that part of their heritage".<ref name="NYTimes2006"/>
* ''Silver River'' (2009), her first work of art in the [[Las Vegas Strip]]. It is part of a public fine art collection at [[MGM Mirage]]'s [[CityCenter]], which opened in December 2009. Lin created an {{convert|84|ft|m|adj=on}} cast of the [[Colorado River]] made entirely of reclaimed silver. With the sculpture, Lin wanted to make a statement about water conservation and the importance of the [[Colorado River]] to [[Nevada]] in terms of energy and water.<ref>{{cite news|title=Artist Maya Lin Provides 'Silver River' for Vegas' CityCenter Megaresort|first=Steve|last=Friess|date=2009-12-16|access-date=2010-01-01|work=Sphere News|url=http://www.sphere.com/nation/article/artist-maya-lin-provides-silver-river-for-vegas-citycenter-megaresort/19283624}}{{dead link|date=September 2016|bot=medic|fix-attempted=yes}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2010/01/24/big-gamble-will-citycenter-mega-resort-pay-off-for-las-vegas/|title=Big gamble: Will CityCenter mega resort pay off for Las Vegas?|work=East Bay Times|date=2010-01-24|access-date=2021-11-03|archive-date=2021-11-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103194040/https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2010/01/24/big-gamble-will-citycenter-mega-resort-pay-off-for-las-vegas/|url-status=live}}</ref> The sculpture is displayed behind the front desk of the [[Aria Resort and Casino]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.citycenter.com/press_room/press_room_items.aspx?ID=845|title=Press Releases - CityCenter Las Vegas - Press Room|access-date=2021-11-03|archive-date=2021-11-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103195110/http://www2.citycenter.com/press_room/press_room_items.aspx?ID=845|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''Pin River - Sandy'' (completed in 2013) was a work Lin created in the aftermath of [[Hurricane Sandy]]. Displayed in the Pace Gallery of New York, it stands at {{convert|114|×|120|×|1+1/2|in|cm|0}}. The work was meant to represent the flood zone of Hurricane Sandy. She wanted this piece to raise awareness of how New York City used to be, and how the natural [[oyster reef|oyster beds]] and [[salt marsh]]es would protect from the storm surges.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://art21.org/theme/climate-crisis/#/9|title=New York, Maya Lin - Extended Play |access-date=2024-08-07}}</ref>
* ''A Fold in the Field'' (completed in 2013). Her largest work to date, it was built from {{convert|105000|m3|spell=us}} of [[Earth structure|earth fill]], covering {{convert|3|ha}}. It forms part of a private collection within a sculpture park, owned by [[Alan Gibbs]], north of [[Auckland]], New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gibbsfarm.org.nz/lin.php|title=Maya Lin, A Fold in the Field - Gibbs Farm|access-date=2014-05-13 |archive-date=2017-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005110404/http://gibbsfarm.org.nz/lin.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Since around 2010, Lin has been working on what she calls "her final memorial",<ref>{{cite web|title=About the Project|url=http://whatismissing.net/#/home|website=What Is Missing?|access-date=2015-03-07 |archive-date=2018-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923131739/http://whatismissing.net/#/home|url-status=dead}}</ref> the What Is Missing? Foundation, to commemorate the biodiversity that has been lost in the planet's sixth mass extinction. She aims to raise awareness about the [[loss of biodiversity]] and natural habitats by using sound, media, science, and art for temporary installations and a web-based project. ''What Is Missing?'' exists not in one specific site but in many forms and in many places simultaneously.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Reed|first1=Amanda|title=What Is Missing?: Maya Lin's Memorial on the Sixth Extinction|url=http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/011645.html|website=World Changing|access-date=2015-03-07 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120234705/http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/011645.html|archive-date=2015-01-20 }}</ref>
* From 2015 to 2021, Lin worked on the renovation and reconfiguration of the Neilson Library and its grounds at [[Smith College]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Sokol|first=Brett|date=2021-03-17|title=For Maya Lin, a Victory Lap Gives Way to Mourning|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/17/arts/design/maya-lin-smith-college-daniel-wolf.html|access-date=2021-03-26|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2021-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324214537/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/17/arts/design/maya-lin-smith-college-daniel-wolf.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A project in Madison Square Park, "[[Ghost Forest]]", was postponed until 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Angeleti|first=Gabriella|date=2021-02-09 |title=Maya Lin's 'ghost forest' will rise in Madison Square Park this spring|url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/maya-lin-s-ghost-forest-an-immersive-installation-of-desiccated-trees-will-rise-in-new-york-this-spring-after-postponement-due-to-covid-19|access-date=2021-03-26|website=www.theartnewspaper.com|archive-date=2021-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317160625/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/maya-lin-s-ghost-forest-an-immersive-installation-of-desiccated-trees-will-rise-in-new-york-this-spring-after-postponement-due-to-covid-19|url-status=live}}</ref>

===The White House===
On February 25, 2010, the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]] awarded Lin the 2009 [[National Medal of Arts]].<ref name="NBC News"/>

Both ''What is Missing'' and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial were referenced by the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]] in its press release that announced Lin as one of the 2016 recipients of the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]. Nature and the environment have been central concerns for Lin in both her art and architecture.<ref name="NBC News"/>

When informed of her win, Lin noted: {{blockquote|"As an artist I often work in series, and so for me, I wanted my last memorial to be on a subject that I have personally been concerned with and connected to since I was a child. The last memorial is 'What Is Missing?' and encompasses multiple platforms, with temporary and permanent physical installations as well as an interactive online component."<ref name="NBC News">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/speechless-vietnam-veterans-memorial-architect-maya-lin-receive-medal-freedom-n686966|title='Speechless': Vietnam Veterans Memorial architect Maya Lin to receive Medal of Freedom|publisher=NBC News|access-date=2017-03-31 |archive-date=2019-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415075435/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/speechless-vietnam-veterans-memorial-architect-maya-lin-receive-medal-freedom-n686966|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

At the same time, Lin also expressed her concerns for the goals of the upcoming [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]]: {{blockquote|"I think nature is resilient— if we protect it—and with my background I wanted to lend a voice to the incredible threat we are under from [[climate change]] and species and [[habitat loss]]."<ref name="NBC News" />}}

===Exhibitions===
* ''Il Cortile Mare'' (1998-1999), an exhibition of furniture design, maquettes, and photos of works at the American Academy in Rome.<ref>{{cite web|first=R.J. |last=Preece|year=1999|url=http://www.artdesigncafe.com/Maya-Lin-American-Academy-Rome-1999|title=Maya Lin at American Academy, Rome|work=World Sculpture News / artdesigncafe|access-date=2011-12-30 |archive-date=2012-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202173101/http://www.artdesigncafe.com/Maya-Lin-American-Academy-Rome-1999|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes'' (2008-2009), an exhibition of Lin's sculptures, drawings, and installations at the [[de Young Museum]], San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-05-03 |title=Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes |url=https://www.famsf.org/exhibitions/maya-lin-systematic-landscapes |access-date=2026-03-28 |website=FAMSF |language=en}}</ref>

===Written works===
* Maya Lin, ''Boundaries'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Maya Lin: Boundaries|publisher=[[WorldCat]]|oclc=470354593}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/visualart/maya.shtml|title=Maya Lin emerges from the shadows|access-date=2011-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021120003051/http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/visualart/maya.shtml|archive-date=2002-11-20 |first=Regina|last=Hackett|work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|date=2000-10-19 }}</ref>

==Design methodology==
Maya Lin prefers the title of a designer rather than an architect.<ref>In a 2008 interview, she said, "I'm not licensed as an architect, so I technically cannot label myself as an architect, although I would say that we pretty much produce with architects of record supervising. I love architecture and I love building architecture, but technically, legally, I'm not licensed, so I'm a designer." {{cite web|url=http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/mn/mayalin.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915223311/http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/mn/mayalin.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-09-15|title=Between Art and Architecture: The Memory Works of Maya Lin|publisher=[[American Association of Museums]]|date=July–August 2008|access-date=October 27, 2011}}</ref> Her vision and focus are always on how space needs to be in the future, the balance and relationship with the nature. She focus less on politics influencing the design and more on what emotions the space would create and what it would show to the user. Her belief in a space being connected and the transition from inside to outside being fluid, coupled with what a space means, has led her to create designs regarding it. She has also worked on sculptures and landscape installations, such as “Input” artwork at Ohio University. In doing so, Lin focuses on remembering  concepts of time periods instead of direct representations of figures, creating an abstract sculptures and installations.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

Lin believes that art should be an act of any individual who is willing to say something that is new and not quite familiar.<ref name="Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision"/> In her own words, Lin's work "originates from a simple desire to make people aware of their surroundings, not just the physical world but also the psychological world we live in."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Boundaries|last=Lin|first=Maya Ying|date=2000|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=0684834170|location=New York|oclc=43591075|url=https://archive.org/details/boundaries00linm}}</ref> Lin describes her creative process as having a very important writing and verbal component. She first imagines an artwork verbally to understand its concepts and meanings. She believes that gathering ideas and information is especially vital in architecture, which focuses on humanity and life and requires a well-rounded mind.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Campbell|first1=Robert|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8625723.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924201534/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8625723.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 24, 2015|title=Rock, Paper, Vision Artist and Architect Maya Lin Goes Beyond her Powerful Vietnam Veterans Memorial|access-date=March 7, 2015|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=November 30, 2000}}</ref> When a project comes her way, she tries to "understand the definition (of the site) in a verbal before finding the form to understand what a piece is conceptually and what its nature should be even before visiting the site".<ref name="Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" /> After she completely understands the definition of the site, Lin finalizes her designs by creating numerous renditions of her project in model form.<ref name=":0" /> In her historical memorials, such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the ''[[Women's Table]]'', and the [[Civil Rights Memorial]], Lin tries to focus on the chronological aspect of what she is memorializing. That theme is shown in her art memorializing the changing environment and in charting the depletion of bodies of water.<ref>{{cite web | last=TenBrink | first=Marisa | title=Maya Lin's Environmental Installations: Bringing the Outside In | url=https://publications.kon.org/urc/v9/Interconnected-Through-Art/tenbrink.pdf | location=South Dakota State University | page=2 | access-date=2025-05-25}}</ref> Lin also explores themes of juxtaposing materials and a fusion of opposites: "I feel I exist on the boundaries. Somewhere between science and art, art and architecture, public and private, east and west.... I am always trying to find a balance between these opposing forces, finding the place where opposites meet... existing not on either side but on the line that divides."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Deitsch|first=Dina|title=Maya Lin's Perpetual Landscapes and Storm King Wavefield|magazine=Woman's Art Journal|volume=30|issue=1|year=2009|page=4}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Lin was married to Daniel Wolf (1955–2021), a photography dealer and collector, until his death.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Risen|first=Clay|date=March 24, 2021|title=Daniel Wolf, 65, Dies; Helped Create a Market for Art Photography|language=en-US|volume=120|page=A21|work=The New York Times|issue=59009|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/arts/daniel-wolf-dead.html|access-date=March 26, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325195117/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/arts/daniel-wolf-dead.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Her sister-in-law was the philanthropist [[Diane R. Wolf]] (1954–2008). She has homes in New York and rural Colorado, and is the mother of two daughters, India and Rachel.<ref name=":1" />

Lin has an older brother, the poet [[Tan Lin]].<ref name="NYTimesPeople">{{cite news|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/maya_lin/index.html|title=Maya Lin|work=The New York Times|accessdate=January 2, 2009|first=Edward|last=Rothstein}}</ref>

==Recognition==
Lin has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Yale University, [[Harvard University]], the University of Pennsylvania, [[Williams College]], and Smith College.<ref name="FAMSF">{{cite web|url=http://72.5.117.194/content.asp?key=139|title=Maya Lin: Systematic Landscapes|publisher=[[Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco]]|access-date=January 2, 2009}}{{dead link|date=July 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> In 1987, she was among the youngest to be awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by Yale University.<ref name="Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110480/|title=Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision|date=November 10, 1995|work=IMDb|access-date=July 1, 2018|archive-date=October 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014111230/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110480/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1994, she was the subject of the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1995|title=The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners|accessdate=2015-05-12|work=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=October 5, 2014|publisher=AMPAS|archive-date=November 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102051957/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1995|url-status=live}}</ref> documentary ''[[Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision]]''. Its title comes from an address she gave at [[Juniata College]] in which she spoke of the monument design process in the origin of her work; "My work originates from a simple desire to make people aware of their surroundings and this can include not just the physical but the psychological world that we live in."<ref name="Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" />

In 2002, Lin was elected Alumni Fellow of the [[Yale Corporation]], the governing body of [[Yale University]] (upon whose campus sits another of Lin's designs, the Women's Table, designed to commemorate the role of women at Yale University), in an unusually public contest. Her opponent was W. David Lee, a local New Haven minister and graduate of the [[Yale Divinity School]], who was running on a platform to build ties to the community with the support of Yale's unionized employees. Lin was supported by Yale President [[Richard Levin]] and other members of the Yale Corporation, and she was the officially endorsed candidate of the Association of Yale Alumni.<ref>{{Cite magazine 
| url=http://archives.news.yale.edu/v30.n31/story3.html
| title=Renowned architect Maya Lin elected to Yale Corporation | date = June 7, 2002 | volume = 30 | issue = 31
| magazine = Yale Bulletin and Calendar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.yale.edu/2002/05/30/maya-lin-elected-yale-corporation|title=Maya Lin Elected to Yale Corporation|date=May 30, 2002|website=Yale News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2002/03/06/nomination-of-one-corporation-candidate-unusual/|title=Nomination of one Corporation candidate unusual|date=Mar 6, 2002|website=Yale News|access-date=August 17, 2024|archive-date=August 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817204404/https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2002/03/06/nomination-of-one-corporation-candidate-unusual/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2003, Lin was chosen to serve on the selection jury of the [[World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition]]. A trend toward [[minimalism]] and [[abstract art|abstraction]] was noted among the entrants and the finalists as well as in the chosen design for the [[World Trade Center Memorial]].

In 2005, Lin was elected to [[the American Academy of Arts and Letters]], as well as the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]] in [[Seneca Falls (town), New York|Seneca Falls]], [[New York (state)|New York]].

President [[Barack Obama]] awarded Lin the [[National Medal of Arts]] in 2009<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nea.gov/news/news10/Medals.html|title=White House Announces 2009 National Medal of Arts Recipients|work=Nea.gov|date=February 25, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301095545/http://www.nea.gov/news/news10/Medals.html|access-date=April 25, 2012|archive-date=March 1, 2010}}</ref> and the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] in 2016.<ref name="medal1">{{cite web|title=President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|author=Office of the Press Secretary, The White House|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom|date=November 16, 2016|access-date=3 June 2018|archive-date=January 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118210055/https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2022, the Smithsonian's [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]] in Washington, D.C. announced the first biographical exhibition, "One Life: Maya Lin",<ref>{{Cite news |title=Maya Lin on Art, Architecture, Landscape and Memory |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-11-18/maya-lin-looks-back-and-ahead-at-her-life-in-monuments |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209171918/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-11-18/maya-lin-looks-back-and-ahead-at-her-life-in-monuments |archive-date=December 9, 2022 |access-date=2025-05-08 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> dedicated to Lin, noting her contributions as architect, sculptor, environmentalist, and designer of the [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Portrait Gallery Presents "One Life: Maya Lin" {{!}} Smithsonian Institution |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-portrait-gallery-presents-one-life-maya-lin |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=Smithsonian Institution |language=en |archive-date=November 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108174445/https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-portrait-gallery-presents-one-life-maya-lin |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Awards and honors ==
{{incomplete list|date=November 2014}}
* 1999: [[Rome Prize]]
* 2000: Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement|website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#the-arts|access-date=March 18, 2020|archive-date=December 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#the-arts|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2003: [[Finn Juhl|Finn Juhl Prize]]
* 2005: Elected to [[American Academy of Arts and Letters|The American Academy of Arts and Letters]]
* 2005: Elected to [[National Women's Hall of Fame]] in Seneca Falls, New York
* 2007: [[Twenty-five Year Award|AIA Twenty-five Year Award]]
* 2009: [[National Medal of Arts]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/medals/maya-lin|title=Maya Lin|date=2013-04-17|work=NEA|access-date=2018-10-27|archive-date=October 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028033602/https://www.arts.gov/honors/medals/maya-lin|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2011: [[Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture]], awarded jointly by the [[Thomas Jefferson Foundation]] and the [[University of Virginia]]
* 2014: [[The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize]], a $300,000 art prize<ref>{{cite web|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/maya-lin-wins-300000-gish-prize/|title=Maya Lin Wins $300,000 Gish Prize|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Graham Bowly|date=October 7, 2014|access-date=November 12, 2014|archive-date=November 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109211331/http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/maya-lin-wins-300000-gish-prize/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2016: [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]<ref name="medal1"/>
* 2024: Received honorary Doctor of Arts from [[University of Pennsylvania]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Penn's 2024 Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients Announced |url=https://almanac.upenn.edu/articles/penns-2024-commencement-speaker-and-honorary-degree-recipients-announced |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=almanac.upenn.edu |language=en |archive-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326070425/https://almanac.upenn.edu/articles/penns-2024-commencement-speaker-and-honorary-degree-recipients-announced |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 2024: Received honorary degree from [[Johns Hopkins University]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-18 |title=Maya Lin Receives Honorary Degrees {{!}} Pace Gallery |url=https://www.pacegallery.com/journal/maya-lin-receives-honorary-degrees/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=www.pacegallery.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Selected works==
* [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial]] (VVM) (1980–82), Washington, D.C.<ref name="Significant Works">{{Cite news|url=http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/lin/|title=Presidential Lectures: Maya Lin|work=Prelectur.stanford.edu|date=November 5, 1989|access-date=April 25, 2012|archive-date=November 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117191325/http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/lin/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Aligning Reeds'' (1985), New Haven, Connecticut<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* [[Civil Rights Memorial]] (1988–89), Montgomery, Alabama<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* Open-Air Peace Chapel (1988–89), Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Topo'' (1989–91), Charlotte Sports Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Eclipsed Time'' (1989–95), Pennsylvania Station, New York City<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''[[The Women's Table]]'' (1990–93), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* [[Weber House (Williamstown, Massachusetts)|Weber House]] (1991–93), Williamstown, Massachusetts<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Groundswell'' (1992–93), Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* [[Museum for African Art]] (1992–93), New York City<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Wave Field'' (1993–95), FXB Aerospace Engineering Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''10 Degrees North'' (1993–96), [[Rockefeller Foundation]] Headquarters, New York City<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''A Shift in the Stream'' (1995–97), Principal Financial Group Headquarters, Des Moines, Iowa<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Reading a Garden'' (1996–98), [[Cleveland Public Library]], Cleveland, Ohio<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* Private Duplex Apartment, New York City (1996–98), New York<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Topographic Landscape'' (1997) (Portable sculpture)<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Phases of the Moon'' (1998) (Portable sculpture)<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Avalanche'' (1998) (Portable sculpture)<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* [[Langston Hughes Library]] (1999), Clinton, Tennessee<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Timetable'' (2000), Stanford University, Stanford, California<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''The character of a hill, under glass'' (2000–01), American Express Client Services Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Ecliptic'' (2001), Grand Rapids, Michigan<ref name="Significant Works"/>
* ''Input'' (2004), Bicentennial Park, Athens, Ohio
* Riggio-Lynch Chapel (2004), Clinton, Tennessee
* Arts Plaza, [[Claire Trevor School of the Arts]] (2005), Irvine, California
* [[Confluence Project]]: [[Cape Disappointment State Park]] (2006)
* [[Above and Below]], [[Indianapolis Museum of Art]] (2007)
* Confluence Project: [[Vancouver Land Bridge]] (2008)
* Confluence Project: [[Sandy River Delta]] (2008)
* Confluence Project: [[Sacajawea State Park]] (2010)
* Ellen S. Clark ''Hope Plaza'', [[Washington University in St. Louis]] (2010)
* Confluence Project: Chief Timothy Park (2011)
* ''A Fold in the Field'' (2013), The Gibbs Farm, Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand
* "What is Missing? (2009–present), (Various locations, web project)
* ''Under the Laurentide'', [[Brown University]] (2015)<ref>{{cite news|last1=Coelho|first1=Courtney|title=Under the Laurentide installed at BERT|url=https://news.brown.edu/articles/2015/04/laurentide|access-date=April 26, 2015|work=News from Brown|date=April 22, 2015|archive-date=August 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160830231151/https://news.brown.edu/articles/2015/04/laurentide|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Folding the Chesapeake'' (part of Wonder exhibit): Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC (2015)
* Neilson Library (2021), [[Smith College]], Northampton, Massachusetts (redesign)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stevens |first1=Philip |title=Maya Lin Completes New Neilson Library at Smith College in Massachusetts |url=https://www.designboom.com/architecture/maya-lin-new-neilson-library-smith-college-massachusetts-03-19-2021/ |website=designboom |date=March 19, 2021 |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-date=March 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327000322/https://www.designboom.com/architecture/maya-lin-new-neilson-library-smith-college-massachusetts-03-19-2021/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Ghost Forest]]'' (2021), Madison Square Park, New York, New York<ref>{{Cite web|title=Maya Lin: Ghost Forest|url=https://madisonsquarepark.org/art/exhibitions/maya-lin-ghost-forest/|access-date=2021-06-10|website=Madison Square Park Conservancy|language=en-US|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610161636/https://madisonsquarepark.org/art/exhibitions/maya-lin-ghost-forest/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=Maya Lin: Topologies (Artist and the community)|year=1998|isbn=1-888826-05-3|last1=Lin|first1=Maya Ying|last2=Fleming|first2=Jeff|last3=Brenson|first3=Michael|last4=Dowell-Dennis|first4=Terri|publisher=Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art }}
* ''Maya Lin: [American Academy in Rome, 10 dicembre 1998-21 febbraio 1999]'' (1998) {{ISBN|88-435-6832-9}}
* ''Timetable: Maya Lin'' (2000) ASIN B000PT331Y (2002, {{ISBN|0-937031-19-4}})
* {{cite book|title=Boundaries|year=2000|isbn=0-684-83417-0|last1=Lin|first1=Maya Ying|last2=MacArio|first2=Carla|publisher=Simon & Schuster }} (2006, {{ISBN|0-7432-9959-0}})
* ''Landscape Architecture'' (2/2007), page 110–115, by Susan Hines
* {{cite book|last=Sinnott|first=Susan|title=Extraordinary Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders |date=2003 |publisher=Children's Press |location=New York |isbn=9780516226552 |edition=Rev.}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Visual arts|Biography}}
{{Commons}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://www.mayalin.com Mayalin.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719022745/http://www.mayalin.com/ |date=July 19, 2020 }}, Main site for Maya Lin Studio
* [https://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/lin/ Biography, interviews, essays, artwork images and video clips] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028084128/http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/lin/ |date=October 28, 2011 }} from [[PBS]] series ''[[Art:21 -- Art in the Twenty-First Century]]'' Season 1 (2001)
* [http://www.pacegallery.com/artists/266/maya-lin Pace Gallery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517011532/http://www.pacegallery.com/artists/266/maya-lin |date=May 17, 2017 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165136/https://www.makers.com/profiles/591f28914d21a8046c3a6392 Maya Lin] video produced by ''[[Makers: Women Who Make America]]''
* {{IMDb name|0510929|Maya Lin}}

{{Navboxes
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| list =
{{National Medal of Arts recipients 2000s}}
{{National Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{Ohio Women's Hall of Fame}}
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{{Civil Rights Memorial|state=collapsed}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Maya}}
[[Category:1959 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American artists of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:American architects of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:American landscape and garden designers]]
[[Category:Vietnam Veterans Memorial]]
[[Category:Artists from New York City]]
[[Category:Artists from Ohio]]
[[Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters]]
[[Category:Members of the Committee of 100]]
[[Category:People from Athens, Ohio]]
[[Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients]]
[[Category:Vietnam War]]
[[Category:Yale School of Architecture alumni]]
[[Category:American women architects]]
[[Category:20th-century American women artists]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize winners]]